POLITICS OF VICTIMHOOD IN HELON HABILA’S THE CHIBOK GIRLS: THE BOKO HARAM KIDNAPPINGS AND ISLAMIST MILITANCY IN NIGERIA

Abstract

In this article, the author critically examines the politics of
victimhood in Helon Habila's The Chibok Girls: The Boko Haram
kidnappings and Islamist militancy in Nigeria. The novel is a non-fictional
narrative of the most gruesome terrorists’ abduction of 276
schoolgirls of Government Secondary School, Chibok, in Bornu
State, Nigeria, which occurred on the 14 April 2014. The article is
framed on Cathy Caruth's trauma theory, which offers a compelling
perspective for understanding the psychological and narrative
dimensions of traumatic experience that comes in the forms of
repeated flashbacks and nightmares of cycles of violence and neglect
as suffered by the Chibok girls. Through the literary analysis of
Habila's narrative choices, thematic concerns, and detailed
description of socio-political context, the article interrogates how
the phenomenon of victimhood is constructed, represented, and
finds expression to portray socio-political events both in Nigeria and
outside the shores of Nigeria. The article finds that Habila's work
goes beyond journalism to serve as a powerful socio-political
commentary. It exposes the Nigerian state's failure to protect its
citizens, especially women and children, from terrorism and
systemic neglect. Through first-hand interviews and investigative
visits, Habila reveals the girls’ trauma, the Nigerian Federal
government's denial and inaction, and the broader atmosphere of
insecurity and institutional weakness in Nigeria.